A birds-eye view of Kauai

Do you ever wonder what it would feel like to be a bird? To be completely free and for the wind to catch your wings and carry you wherever you wanted to go.

The closest I came to this was as a passenger of a helicopter over the Garden Isle of Kauai. 
Helicopters crash a lot. I know, I know. But what are the chances that MY helicopter was going to crash? I can't live my life in fear. But shamefully, I was very fearful of my helicopter ride. This helicopter ride was like a present to myself, a pat-on-the-back for surviving the last 8 months traipsing through third world countries. I was celebrating my hard work and success.

Joining me on the flight were 5 other vacationers, a couple from Texas and a family of 3 from Michigan. 
I arrived at the Safari Helicopters office on the day I booked my tour, only to discover the flight was delayed. After the 3 hour delay, it was canceled. Bad weather. This was fine with me, I didn't want our lives to be in jeopardy as we whizzed through the air in a tiny piece of metal.
I returned the next day and our flight was given the thumbs up. Hooray!
We were given little yellow life vest pouches for the unlikely event of a water landing, and then escorted to the helicopter that was awaiting us. 
As we approached, the blades were spinning like a blender on high speed. I crouched lower than required to avoid an unwanted scalping. The horrific YouTube video where a man was decapitated from a helicopter blade was playing through my head on repeat, taunting me. I looked like a timid dog and I crawled to the doors of the helicopter.
I donned a headset and was given a short safety briefing. 

Scared

Still scared

Our pilot was born and raised on Kauai, which made it even more special. During the flight, he pointed out the small village he grew up in.
He gently lifted the helicopter off the ground and we were off! It felt like I was flying, but as the houses became smaller and smaller, I got more and more nervous. But the amazing views ahead created an element of excitement. My palms were sweaty and my hands were shaky. I was more nervous than a 16 year-old on her first date. The woman next to me had been an ER nurse for 23 years. She held my hand for awhile when she saw my fear. Her calming method worked and my fears eased. I wondered how many patients she had calmed with this peaceful, motherly touch.

Although I tried to conceal my fear, it must have shown on my face because the pilot kept asking me if I was ok, then he would laugh and tell me I was going to be fine. He never asked anyone else if they were ok...... ??
We soared through the air, over green pastures with lazy cows, then over fuzzy green mountains and through the Waimea Canyon, dubbed "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific". The pilot decided to check if our adrenal glands were working as he sped over the cliff of the canyon, which opened up to a river below. For a moment we were weightless and we all screamed in unison. My belly did a somersault. He said "Just checking if you're awake". Ugh.

Tranquil Hawaiian music was pumped in through our headsets as the pilot gave commentary on the sights. We glided past stunning enormous waterfalls that could only be seen by helicopter. Endless amounts of water plummeted hundreds of feet to small lakes below. It's mind blowing what spectacular sights nature has created.   

Soon we hit a rain storm. As we flew through the fluffy gray rain clouds, water slid off the windshield easily but created a bumpy ride. I instinctively braced myself, as if to catch my balance. It's a terrible feeling not being in control. I could see the rest of the passengers looked a little uneasy themselves. I looked at the nurse next to me and frowned. Her eyes were wide with fright also. The flight wasn't quite as smooth as we were told it would be, so this made me fear the worst. To make matters worse, sometimes it sounded like the blades were sputtering. I tried to shut out the morbid thoughts of our helicopter crashing violently into the lush green vegetation below. It's only natural to have these thoughts, though. After the flight, the other passengers expressed how equally scared they were during the turbulence. The little aircraft felt so flimsy whizzing through the air, like the slightest wind from the Hawaiian Gods could have blown us right into the magical mountains. 

After I managed to get these horrible thoughts out of my head, I sat back and enjoyed the 1 hour tour over Kauai. It was a fantastic view from my window seat. I was silent as I was mesmerized by the mystical scenery passing by and constantly had goosebumps. I felt so alive. Living life to the fullest. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. It almost made me cry. I'm a dork, I know. 

Na Pali coast

This is such a perfectly put together piece of the earth. Everything jives and creates a breath-taking beauty unparalleled to anywhere else in the world. God had a good day when he created the Hawaiian Islands.
We glided next to the impressive Na Pali coast and I took this short video. I also have the entire hour long flight on DVD that was filmed by the helicopter company, but I'm pretty sure it would take forever to upload to YouTube.


As I soaked in all the sights below, I decided I would be ok with being reincarnated as a bird. I would live in Hawaii. What a wonderful life :)
As we neared the end of our epic flight, the famous Hawaiian song "Somewhere over the rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole came on in our headphones. What a perfect ending to a perfect flight. 
The chopper gracefully touched the ground and I felt a sense of relief come over me. I was happy to survive my first helicopter ride!